Barcelona Travel Forum

Looking for a nice wine tour -- had an excellent trip in Melbourne that took multiple sign ups (instead of a private tour)in one big van to different wineries (had the sweetest, most rib-tickling driver, especially on the trip home! :). Everything I see in Spain seems to center on "private" tours. Any help finding a more "assorted" group (and more reasonably priced) tour? Either Madrid, Sevilla or Barcelona?

Well, the three cities you mention are not really the hearts of the Spanish wine industry. It is not THAT commercialised!

Tarragona is close to the Cava-producing district of Catalunya.

Logroño would serve as a base for the well-known, perhaps over-rated Rioja varieties. And also for the excellent Navarra wines.

Valladolid for Ribera del Duero.

Cariñena (near Zaragoza) for Cariñena.

Ponferrada or Villafranca del Bierzo for the delicious produce from El Bierzo.

Cangas de Narcea for the rare, expensive, but succulent Asturian red.

Jumilla or Cieza or Yecla for wines from that corner of the Levante/Murcia.

Utiel or Requena for wines from there (near València). Not bad wines, either.

Padrón or anywhere around Santiago for Galician reds and whites (try them with Galician bread, perhaps the best bread in Spain).

La Mancha? Try Valdepeñas Agreeable.

i am not knowledgeable on wines, I simply buy the cheapest on offer, reds, and consume them in moderation with raw garlic and crispy, sometimes stale bread. Yummmmmm!

The Penedes DO is just to the South west of Barcelona. Priorat is also near Barcelona, there are day tours from Barca. Both have some very good wines

Near Seville is Jerez de la Frontera, for Sherry. Sorry don't have specifics on tours.


http://www.dopenedes.es/index.php?lang=en

the best in wines in Barcelona is Villafranca del Penedés and the best known is sparkling type champagne call Cava, is at San Sadurni d'Noia with best brands Codorniu and Freixenet

contact
best in my opinion of jean Leon at Penedés
http://www.jeanleon.com/eng/index-eng.html

in San Sadurni are
http://www.codorniu.es/
http://www.freixenet.es/

hope it helps

ps Sevilla is more sherry base and sweet malaga wines mostilla, but some wines are good, my favorites over the years has been Bodegas Gonzalez Palacios in Spanish only, and about 76 km from Sevilla and the birthplace of Antonio Nebrijas author of the first grammar book in Spanish!
http://www.gonzalezpalacios.com/

Madrid is again poor on wines, mostly a new denomination vinos de la comunidad de Madrid has brought some quality to them; my favorites are ricardo Benito and valle Iglesias
http://www.bodegasricardobenito.com/bodegas_ricardo_benito/Bienvenida.html
http://www.valleyglesias.com/

older Madrileños still opted for the region of Valdepeñas a bit south in Castilla-La mancha province of Ciudad Real,some bodegas there I like
Bodegas Félix Solis
http://www.felixsolis.com/
Bodegas Navarro Lopez
http://www.navarrolopez.com/

hope it helps, I do love wines ::)